Bottle-stopper



(No-Model.)

' W. L. ROORBACH &-G.IW. TUCKER.

BOTTLE S'IGPPER.

Patented June 3 /ff/f//V//Wm portion d of the form shown in Fig. 2

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

PENNsYLvANIA.

BOTTLE-STOPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,482, dated J' une3, 1890..

Application tiled October 14, 1889. Renewed May 6, 1890. Serial No.350,796. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM L. ROOR- BACH and GEORGE W. TUCKER, bothcitizens of the United States, and residents of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, ot'Which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to that class of bottle-Stoppers known as internalStoppers, the object of our invention being to so construct the stopperthat it will be light and tioat upon the liquid in the bottle during theprocess of filling, and that it will quickly seat itself as soon as thefilling-tube isv removed.

A further object of our invention is to provide a bottle-stopper thatcan be used with an upright filling-machine now in common use inbottling with the common cork and Wire bail.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a perspective View of our,improved bottlestopper. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View. Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line l 2, Fig. 2. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 arediagram Views, illustrating the process of filling bottles in which ourimproved stopper is used. Figs. 7 and S are views illustrating theemptying of the bottle.

A is the bottle, having a neck of the form shown, the portion a of theneck being of a certain size to correspond with a certain size ofstopper.

B is the stopper, having an oblong portion b, which is cylindrical inform and hollow, as shown in Fig. 2. This portion b is reduced at c fora purpose described hereinafter.

Connected to the portion b by a neck c is a This portion is also madehollow.

Around the neck is awasher or sealing-disk D, made preferably offlexible rubber.

In order to make the stopper as light as possible, we make it out ofvulcanized rubber, it being very light and buoyant, iioatin g upon thesurface of the liquid in the bottle during the process of iillin g andof emptying, as clearly shown in the diagrams, Figs. 4 to 8. Theportionfof the stopper is of a size to snugly pass through the neck of thebottle at the point a, and commencing directly under this portion f ofthe stopper are two or more longitudinal grooves g, extending to thecutaway space c, although in some instances one groove may be used. Theobject'of this cut-y away space c is that when the stopper is forcedinto the bottle' in the first place the sealing-disk will be turned intothis space and allow the stopper to pass through the neck. By having theportion f ofthe stopper -to snugly pass through the neck of the bottleand having the grooves extending only to this portion the portion f actsas a plunger for the stopper during the illing of the bottle, so as toinsure the proper seating of the sealing-disk.

YVire will now explain the operation of iilling the bottle: As shown inFig. 4, the nipple of the ordinary bottle-filling machine is placedin-position on the head of the bottle, and the liquid with the gas isturned into the bottle. The force of this liquid and gas tends to rightthe stopper, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, the stopper being preventedfrom reversing, owing to the fact that it is longer than the-bottle viswide. When the bottle is iilled and the flow of liquid and gas cut off,the stopper iioats partly immersed in the liquid, as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 5, and remains in this position until the nipple of theilling-machine has been removed, and as soon as this nipple is removedthe stopper is forced out of the liquid into the mouth of the bottle, asshown by full lines in Fig.'5, the headf of the St0pper fitting snuglybut sliding freely through the portion A of Athe neck, thus preventingfor a moment the escape of liquid or gas past the stopper. The pressure,however, continues, and immediately the stopper is forced from theposition shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6, sealing the bottle.The stopper is forced into this position by the gases acting upon theundercut portion of the head at the end of the grooves g and the exposedportion of the stopper, the sealing-disks D, making a complete seal,preventing the escape of liquid or gas. This action, from the positionshown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 6, is instantaneous, and we havefound by eX- periment that it matters little whether the bottle ispartially filled with liquid or com- IOO pletely filled, as the stopperdoes not float into position in the mouth of the bottle, as in manyStoppers, but is forced by the gas into the mouth of the bottle, owingto its peculiar shapel and buoyancy. The amount of gas that escapesduring the progress of the stopper from the position shown in Fig. 5 tothat shown in Fig. 6 is a very small percentage of that contained in thebottle, and is of practically no moment. Therefore, the percentage ofbreakage in the filling of a bottle with our improved stopper is smallin comparison to the breakage in filling bottles by the method usuallyemployed.

Then it is wished to empty the bottles of the contents, the stopper isdepressed, as shown in Fig. 7, so that the gas can escape around thesealing-disk through the grooves in the stopper and around the headuntil sufficient gas escapes to allow the stopper to fall from the mouthof the bottle to the surface of the liquid contained therein. At thesame time the bottle is turned as shown in Fig. 8, in order to pour thecontents out, and the stopper being buoyant will iioat on the surface ofthe liquid clear of the mouth of the bottle, not obstructing the mouthin any Way. The objection to a light stopper of this class is that uponopening the bottle the stopper will be forced back to its seat by thepressure of gas within the bottle, there being no way for the gas toescape quickly; but by having the stopper grooved, as abovementioned,this objection is entirely overcome.

Another advantage of our improved stopper is that the bottle can bereadily cleaned by the usual brush mechanism now used in cleaningbottles with detachable or exterior Stoppers, the mechanism cleaning thestopper at the same time that it cleans the bottle.

The stopper can be removed from the bottle by first removing thesealingdisk from the stem but this is not necessary, as the stopperafter on'ce inserted into the bottle need never be removed therefrom.

XVe prefer to make the stopper of vnlcanized rubber, as itiscomparatively light, strong, and has an even surface. The Stoppers canbe blown in molds, so that they will be exactly alike, and in order toinsure their accurate fit in the bottles the necks of the bottles at thepoint a are all gaged, those of one gage being fitted with Stoppers ofone size and those of the other gage being fitted with stop pers ofanother size, so that accuracy is insured in the stoppering of thebottles after filling'.

XVe claim as our invention" l. A bottle-stopper composed of a hollowcylindrical portion b, having grooved sides, and a head j', with asealing-disk secured to the lower end of said stopper, said head fittingsnugly, but so as to slide freely through the neck of the bottle,substantially as specified.

2. A bottle-stopper having the elongated hollow and cylindrical portionb, with a hollow cylindrical portion d, a neck e, connecting saidportions, a sealing-disk on said neck, the elongated portion l), havinggrooves g, anda head f, said head fitting snugly, but so as to slidefreely through the neck of the bottle, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

XVILLIAM L. ROORBACH. GEORGE W. TUCKER.

NVitnesses:

WILLIAM D. CONNER, HENRY I'lowsoN.

